When is a grilled cheese not a grilled cheese? When it’s a Croque Monsieur, the French grilled sandwich made with jambon de Paris, cheese and bechamel sauce. Now that’s available in Greenwich Village at the world’s first eatery dedicated solelyculinary classic.

Alberto Benenati and Yves Jadot (the folks behind the Belgian Petite Abeille chain) recently opened this bi-level restaurant in the former home of writer Anaïs Nin. It offers over a dozen different concoctions — served in a brown paper bag —named for the men in her life!

I stopped by recently with their publicist to sample the fare all made with the fabulous crusty bread sourced from Amy’s and the cheeses from — where else but — Murray’s. We sampled the Croque Mme Anaïs (the classic plus a fried egg!) with a choice of five cheeses ($8) including the traditional Gruyere. We opted for the cow’s milk, semi-hard Comté, that the menu describes as “Fruity and intense made from pasteurized cow’s milk, produced by Chimay Brewery run by the Trappist monks of Scourmont Abbey.”  Although the sandwich was delicious, I wished they had added a smidgen more of the Comté as its flavor was hidden.

My two favorites include the Mr. Joaqui (AKA the Cuban) with roast pork, jambon de Paris, bechamel, dill pickles, mustard and Gruyere ($7.75),  better than any Cuban I’ve sampled in Miami! — and the amazing heavenly combination in Mr. Hugh of Coach Farm Goat Cheese & Seville orange marmalade ($ 5.75). I highly recommend either!

We also tried Mr. Eduardo with Bresaola (cured beef), bechamel and smoked mozzarella drizzled with truffle oil ($ 8.75). It was quite tasty, but I’ve come to realize I’ve recently OD’d on truffle oil! If you desire, you can get a side mesclun salad with your sandwich ($3.25).

Wine ($6.50) and Beer (love that they offer Stella Artois, $5) are offered, along with their hot chocolate, that’s quite good, yet certainly is not rival for Angelina’s, which is the best!

I highly suggest a visit to La Maison du Croque Monsieur when you find yourself hungry in the Union Square area!

 

– bonnie

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La Maison du Croque Monsieur
Greenwich Village
17 E 13th St,
New York, NY 10003
(212) 675-2227
La Maison du Croque Monsieur on Urbanspoon